Loveless Truths: A Review of "The Whistleblower" at Theater Wit by Hugh Iglarsh

Eli is a TV writer who has become sick of writing fictional stories about fantasy heroes, and instead decides to speak only hard, personal truths designed to free himself and others from the…

Workplace War Zone: A Review of "In the Back/Out the Floor" at Stage Left by Hugh Iglarsh

The minimum-wage workplace as depicted in this world premiere drama is a nightmare of tedious toil, endless surveillance and absolute disrespect.

Surface Level: A Review of the Joffrey Ballet's The Little Mermaid by Hugh Iglarsh

The five lead dancers skillfully meld precise, athletic movement"in a contemporary ballet mode"with expressive theatricality.

A Well-Intentioned Hell: A Review of "Babel" at Redtwist Theatre by Hugh Iglarsh

The plot concerns two couples"one lesbian, the other heterosexual"who wish to have a baby in a society where childbearing is treated as a highly regulated privilege, available only to litera…

Art Isn't Nice: A Review of "The Threepenny Opera" at Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre by Hugh Iglarsh

There's nothing "nice" about "Threepenny," a no-holds-barred assault on every aspect of bourgeois existence, from religion to marriage and family to the military to law and order.

Opposing Possibilities: A Review of "Heisenberg, The Uncertainty Principle" at Griffin Theatre Company by Hugh Iglarsh

British writer Simon Stephens' 2015 two-hander references physicist Werner Heisenberg's 1927 discovery that it is impossible for an observer to precisely discern both the position and veloci…

Overheated: A Review of Anna in the Tropics at Remy Bumppo by Hugh Iglarsh

In Nilo Cruz' Pulitzer Prize-winning 2003 play, cigars symbolize all kinds of things, from capitalist commodity to an older, slower lifestyle to religious burnt offering, like smoke through …

Gorgeous Surface, Hidden Depths: A Review of Joffrey Ballet's "Anna Karenina" at the Lyric Opera House by Hugh Iglarsh

Joffrey Ballet's magnificent revival, an adaptation of Tolstoy's vast novel of illicit love among the nobility of Czarist Russia, captures the book's tragic, inexorable power.

Not-So-Funny Valentine: A Review of "Almost, Maine" at Oil Lamp Theater by Hugh Iglarsh

A set of nine love-themed comic vignettes presented in time for Hallmark's and Fannie May's favorite holiday, Valentine's Day.

Humdrum Horror: A Review of "The Birthday Party" at City Lit by Hugh Iglarsh

Harold Pinter's "The Birthday Party" suggests that what we think of as the habits of ordinary life are often a kind of smokescreen designed to block awareness of underlying arrangements and …

Polarized in Paradise: A Review of "Cabin Fever" at Adamson Road Theatre Company by Hugh Iglarsh

Four couples have gathered together for a weekend retreat designed to strengthen their marriages and reset their moral and spiritual compasses, under the soothing, cliché-laden guidance of …

Predictable Chaos: A Review of "It Runs in the Family" at Citadel Theatre Company by Hugh Iglarsh

Ray Cooney's 1987 British farce, offers unredeemed silliness of the slamming-door and double-take variety. More of a live-action cartoon than a play, it will appeal mainly to those who favor…

Wanting to Be Seen: A Review of "Trouble in Mind" at TimeLine Theatre by Hugh Iglarsh

"Trouble" is a backstage work set during the rehearsal period for a new and controversial race-themed play, written by a white man, that's set to open on Broadway.

Full Frontal Satire: A Review of "The Conspirators' 125th Anniversary Jubilee, Featuring 'The Ineptidemic,'" at Otherworld Theatre by Hugh Iglarsh

The show affords a fine introduction to what The Conspirators call "The Style," the group's robotically jerky, audience-facing, hyperbolic acting method that stirs together Chinese opera, Ge…

Dreary But Not Scary: A Review of The Gift Theatre's "The Locusts" at Theater Wit by Hugh Iglarsh

As depicted in "The Locusts," life in Vero Beach, Florida is so nasty and brutish that it almost seems a not-totally-bad thing that it's short, too, at least for the victims of the serial ki…

Fatally Fractured Fairy Tales: A Review of "Grimm" at Theatre Above the Law by Hugh Iglarsh

These fables do manage to teach some important morals.

Weaponizing the American Dream: "Alma" at American Blues Theater by Hugh Iglarsh

"Alma" sensitively weaves together the personal and political in this tale of an immigrant single mother originally from Mexico and her rebellious U.S.-born teenage daughter.

Slumming in Bohemia: A Review of "Hay Fever" at City Lit Theater by Hugh Iglarsh

Under Terry McCabe's crisp direction, this 1925 play comes saucily to life, its portrayal of showbiz self-absorption and social insensitivity as fresh and stinging as an Oscar-night slap.

Magical Realism, Shakespeare-Style: A Review of The Winter's Tale at Oak Park Festival Theatre by Hugh Iglarsh

Well cast and imaginatively staged by adapter/director Kevin Theis, Oak Park Theatre Festival's telling of "The Winter's Tale" is a consistently engaging and occasionally enthralling way to …

Coarse Contrasts: Antigone at Redtwist Theatre by Hugh Iglarsh

"Antigone" is perhaps the oldest depiction we have of civil disobedience, focusing on the tension between the state and the individual conscience.

Not Quixotic Enough: A Review of the Joffrey Ballet's "Don Quixote" at the Lyric Opera House by Hugh Iglarsh

World Without Pity: A Review of "Rasheeda Speaking" at Shattered Globe Theatre by Hugh Iglarsh

A real minefield of a drama, focusing on how the macro issues of race, class and gender affect the micro world of workplace relationships.

Complementary Opposites: A Preview of "Serenade" and "Of Mice and Men" by the Joffrey Ballet by Hugh Iglarsh

"Both [ballets] are trying to deal with a particular time: One by healing with the beauty of dance, the other by trying to create empathy for beaten-down humanity. Right now, we're facing so…

Pass This One Over: A Review of "In Every Generation" at Victory Gardens by Hugh Iglarsh

The drama takes place over a non-sequential series of Passovers, beginning in 2019 Los Angeles, as three generations of a Sephardic Jewish clan come together.

Theater Is Participation: A Review of Stand Up If You're Here Tonight at American Blues Theater by Hugh Iglarsh

Featuring a bravura performance by Jim Ortlieb, this show is all about getting reacquainted with the joys, stresses and sheer sensation of real life after a too-long hibernation.

Journey to Inner Space: A Review of Solaris at Griffin Theatre by Hugh Iglarsh

"Solaris" takes us on a mind-bending philosophical and spiritual journey, probing into the nature of reality and identity.

Reluctant Romance: A Review of Outside Mullingar at Citadel Theatre by Hugh Iglarsh

The play focuses on Anthony and Rosemary, forty-ish neighbors whose farms and personal histories are deeply enmeshed.

A Jewel of a Show: A Review of Gem of the Ocean at the Goodman Theatre by Hugh Iglarsh

As with the epic tales of the ancient world, the characters' stories blend together into one complex, interrelated narrative that gives insight into the past and offers moral and practical g…

Sheer Wonderment: A Review of The Joffrey Ballet's The Nutcracker at The Lyric Opera House by Hugh Iglarsh

Joffrey Ballet performs a miracle, turning this holiday chestnut into something not just fresh and new, but also relevant and provocative.

All Hat and No Dickens: A Review of Mr. Dickens' Hat at Northlight Theatre by Hugh Iglarsh

The story revolves around Kit, a loyal young daughter struggling to pay off the debts of her father, who as the play opens is languishing in a debtors prison.

Bodily Grace, Spiritual Fire: A Review of Joffrey Ballet's "Home: A Celebration" at the Lyric Opera House by Hugh Iglarsh

The Joffrey Ballet's triumphal return to live performance is a multi-sensory delight that serves as a joyful homecoming for a crown jewel of Chicago's cultural scene.